Improvement in skates



UNITED STATES PATENT Crimen.

DAVID MAYDOLE, OF NOBVICH. NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT EN SKATES.

Speciiica-tion forming part of Letters Patent No. 3?, E @-3, datedDecember S, 1862.

Which- Figure l is a longitudinal vertical section of a skate withniy-invention applied to it; Fig. 2 an inverted plan of the same.

VSimilar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the twofigures.

This invention relates to a new and improved mode of attaching the backpart of the skate to the heel of the boot or shoe; and it consists inhaving a hook at the back part of a heelplate attached to the skate,anda plate provided with two parallel slots attached to the heel of theboot or shoe, the parts being so arranged that thc hook on the skate maybe passed through the slots in the plate which is attached to the heelof the boot or shoe, and a perfect lock obtained.

The heel-fastening of a skate is the principal one. It' the back part ofthe skate be firmly attached to the heel of the boot or shoe, a verysimple fastening will secure the front part, for in skating the skate israised from the ice with the ball of the foot pressing down on the frontpart of the skate, the heel of the boot or shoe and back part of theskate at the saine time rising, the front part of the skate leaving theice at the last of the movement. The heel-fastening therefore issubjected to a considerable strain, and a very secure fastening isrequired, and it is desirable to have not only a secure fastening, butone which will admit of the skate being readily attached to the boot orshoe and readily detached from it, an end which, it is believed, isfully attained by this invention.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents the runner of a skate, which may be of the usual form, andB B are the two posts or knees, B being the front and B the back post.

To the upper end of the front post, B, there is attached a plate, C, onwhich the frontpart of the boot or shoe rests, and is secured thereto bya strap, D, the ends of which are attached to eyes or loops a a, one ateach side of plate C. I do not, however, confine myselfto this nor toany other fastening for securing the front part of the skate to the bootor shoe. Any suitable fastening may be made for the purpose.

To the upper end of the back heel-post, B', there is attached ahorizontal plate, E, on which the heel of the boot or shoe rests. rIhisplate E may be of circular or other form. In this case its front part iscircular, with a straight back edge, b, at right angles with the runnerA, the whole plate forming rather more than a seinicircle. (See Fig. 2.)

At the center of the back edge, b, of the plate E there is a hook, F,which may be made separately and attached to plate E, or be bent up andformed of a part thereof, a projection being left ou the plate for thatpurpose. This hook may be of any desirable Width, and its convex surfaceis its upper surface, as shown clearly in Fig. l.

G is a plate, of circular or other form, which has twopaiallel slots, cc, made in it at asuitable distance apart, to form what may be termed astaple77 for the hook F to pass entirely throughthat is to say, upthrough the inneriuost slot and down through the other or outermost one,as shown more clearly in Fig. l. This plate G is secu'red by screws d tothe bottomof the heel of the boot or shoe, and is let into the heel, sothat its under surface or face will be iiush with it, and a recess, e,is made in the bottom of the heel of the boot or shoe to admit of thehook being passed through the slots c c, as shown in red in Fig. l. The

back part of the skate is of course first securedto the heel of the bootor shoe, and this is acconiplished by holding the skatein aninclinedposition, as shown in red in Fig. l, and passing the end of the hookfirst through the innermost slot c of plate G, and then turnin the skateforward toward the sole to let the hook pass down through the outermostslot c. By this means a perfect lock is obtained. The skate at its backpart is secured vertically to the boot or shoe, and is also preventedfrom moving or shifting either longitudinally or vertically.

I am aware that in some skate-fastenings dovetail projections have beenattached to skates to t in similar-shaped sockets attached to the soleor heel of the boot or shoe; but such fastenings differ essentially frommine, as the former require a pressure given them by a screw or othermeans to force the dovetail projection into the socket, and also toretain it therein. Such fastening-s also are attended with considerableembarrassment, as the sockets, having one opening only, are liable tobecome lled with dirt and the latter compacted therein, in which case itmust be picked outa rather tedious operation-to leave the socketperfectly clean to receive the dovetail projection on the skate.

It will be seen that in my invention if the recess e in the heel shouldbecome filled with dirt it may be readify cleaned out, for tl e slots cc form openings at both ends of said recess, and a pick can readily be,forced entirely through the recess; or the latter cleaned out by theinsertion of the hook itself.

I would remark that in lieu of the double slotted plate G a simple plateor bar might be employed and attached to the boot-heel with a recess, e,made in the heel, directly over said plate or bar for the hook Fto passover. This, however, would be an inferior arrangement, and be liable tobe affected by Wear. Such modification, however, would be an equivalentto the double-slotted plate, as a staple is formed for the hook in bothcases.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The hook F, attached to or formed on the plateE at the back part of theskate, in conlbination with the plate G, attached to the heel of theboot or shoe, and provided with parallel slots c c, or any equivalentstaple, to receive the hook F, when used in connection with any suitablefastening for holding the front of the skate against the sole of theboot or shoe, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

DAVID MAYDOLE. Witnesses:

R. GAWLEY, G. W. REED.

